Has-been New Year

News analysis. - According to the guests, the temperature was icy, the atmosphere not lively and the buffet a bit skimpy at the Angers town hall ceremony of New Year greetings, on january 4th in the main hall of Le Quai theater. Maybe that was deliberated on behalf of Jean-Claude Antonini, the city mayor. The standing of the meeting was in harmony with the financial situation of the city and the local economy. So, from that point of view, the tone was appropriate to the climate.

Credit Picture : Angers city

The humor of Mr Antonini wasn't happy because,
after 27 years without a tax increase, the mayor confirmed the necessity for the city to get "new ressources" (i.e. new tax) and, at the same time, the decrease of expenses regarding a second cablecar line, urban renovation and public equipments. It's time now is to austerity. And the postponement of the budget vote to april indicates clearly the difficulty of the task the municipal authority (as many others in France and elsewere) squares up.

In a few days, many others authorities will do the same : to greet "Happy New year". But, when savings are looked for, and when everybody knows the difficulty of the period, a good idea could get that kind of formal, affected and  boring ceremony be... suppressed. Those uses are over.